The release of the Illinois school report card brought new details on school gains and losses. State Superintendent Tony Smith says there was some good news.
“It’s pretty exciting that the four-year high-school graduation rate increased from 85.5 percent to 87 percent, so just over 2,000 more kids graduating in four years than last year,” he said. “The percentage of students enrolled in college 12 months after graduating also increased.”
The number of students taking Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses increased slightly, and the average teacher salary grew by about $1,000 in 2017.
Smith says there also was a decrease in the number of students having to take remedial courses at community colleges.
“I would say that it’s worth noting and good that it’s going down but, to me, that’s a big area of work in this state,” he said. “We have too many kids who are still taking remedial coursework.”
Another area of concern is chronic truancy, which increased this past school year to 10.8%.
Each school’s data can be viewedat the E-report card site. A more user-friendly version of the report will be available Friday at www.illinoisreportcard.com